Khârn the Betrayer
Traitor Legion]] Khârn the Betrayer is a member of the World Eaters Traitor Legion of Chaos Space Marines, and the greatest Champion of Khorne after the World Eaters Daemon Primarch Angron himself. He wields a Chainaxe known as Gorechild (which, along with its twin Gorefather, was wielded by Angron during the Horus Heresy), rimmed with the unbreakable teeth of a Mica Dragon. He is the avatar of Khorne, embodying the Blood God's indiscriminate rage and bloodlust. Like his World Eaters compatriots, his brain was re-wired as a Neophyte, so that he now finds joy only in killing the enemy. His love of killing is so great that Khârn has actually had a kill counter installed in the lenses of his helmet. Before the Horus Heresy, Khârn was the Captain of the 8th Assault Company of the World Eaters Legion, and also served as the personal equerry of Angron - something of a "cool head" to his Primarch's bloody rages. Despite this, Khârn was known even before the Horus Heresy as a brilliant but unstable warrior. During the massacre of the Traitor Legions' remaining Loyalist Astartes on Istvaan III, Khârn was believed killed in action while fighting Captain Garviel Loken of the Luna Wolves, a Loyalist determined to stop Horus from attacking Terra by holding his former Legion from completing its massacre of its own Loyalists on that world. Khârn engaged in close combat with Loken, only to be thrown against the dozer blades of a nearby vehicle, impaling his chest. It was believed that the blow was fatal, but this has been proven wrong. During the Horus Heresy and culminating in the Siege of the Imperial Palace during the Battle of Terra, Khârn was at the forefront of every assault made by the World Eaters. At the moment of the Horus' defeat, Khârn already lay dead upon a mound of Traitor Marine corpses before the walls of the Inner Palace. His fellow World Eaters carried his corpse away with them as they fought their way back to their landing ships. Once on board, they discovered that by some dark miracle of the Blood God Khârn still lived. Whether Khorne himself breathed life back into the Berserker's body or whether the relentless clamour of battle revived his blood-lusting spirit remains a mystery, but since the Heresy Khârn has survived the bloodiest battles across ten millennia and has never come so close to death again. At the Battle of Skalathrax, Khârn became both legendary and infamous amongst the warriors of his Legion. He slew in a berserk rage Emperor's Children and World Eaters alike, earning him the title of "the Betrayer," and shattered the Legion into the individual war bands it now consists of in the present. From then on, Khârn has become the unstoppable and bloody avatar of Khorne. After Skalathrax, Khârn hunted the Eye of Terror as the head of a World Eaters warband, slaughtering any worthy enough to be killed in Khorne's name. During the 13th Black Crusade his wrath was unleashed upon the Imperium of Man once more as Khârn joined a few of the most insane of the Khornate Berzerkers and battled the Emperor's warriors flocking to the defence of Cadia. Great Crusade Legion before the Horus Heresy]] Khârn was Captain of the World Eaters' Eighth Assault Company and equerry to his Primarch, Angron during the final years of the Great Crusade. At that time he was described as a deeply bronzed warrior, with a long and noble face. The first depiction of Khârn as a follower of Chaos is during the Massacre on Istvaan III where the World Eater is described as a man swamped by "dark madness" during a battle with Garviel Loken (a Loyalist Luna Wolf Captain). The process of his corruption is not detailed - "I am the eightfold path," he tells Loken, a description of a philosophy dedicated to freeing the individual from attachments and delusions ending in an understanding of the truth of all things (eight is the sacred number of Khorne). This is the only explanation offered by Khârn for his sudden transformation . Horus Heresy Khârn's story continues during the Traitor Legions' Siege of the Imperial Palace at the climax of the Horus Heresy, where he is said to have fought at the forefront of every assault made by the Forces of Chaos. Khârn is killed during the battle, but is later inexplicably revived by the Dark Gods. The reason behind Khârn's reincarnation is never explained, though Khorne returning him to life or his spirit becoming revived by the 'relentless clamour of war' are put forward as two possibilities. Khârn is depicted as a warrior who has never come close to death since the end of the Heresy. Post-Heresy ]] The story of the World Eaters' search for a homeworld in the Eye of Terror is a defining point in the history of Khârn. The Traitor Legion was engaged in battle with the Emperor's Children on a planet named Skalathrax not long after the end of the Horus Heresy when the lethal cold of the Skalathrax night set in, forcing both sides to seek shelter. Khârn, infuriated with the refusal of his fellow World Eaters to continue to attack the enemy while they sought shelter, proceeded to burn the shelters of both his own men and those of the enemy, thus earning the title of "The Betrayer". This act shattered the World Eaters Legion's already fraying unity, splintering it into warbands of Khornate Bezerkers that roam the Eye of Terror to this day. Personality Before the Horus Heresy, Khârn was a loyal servant of the Emperor of Mankind, who warily believed that the excessive means the World Eaters employed in battle were necessary for the ultimate success of the Great Crusade. Following the Heresy, Khârn is portrayed as a Khornate Berzerker, easily enraged by others' perceived weakness, and eager to kill others for Khorne, irrespective of whether or not they are his allies. Wargear Khârn is one of the most deadly yet unstable melee fighters in the galaxy and he is just as likely to attack his own allies in a berserk fury as he is the enemy. Armed with a Plasma Pistol and his ancient Chainaxe Gorechild, he is able to tear through armour, flesh and bone with ease. To emphasise that he is truly favoured by Khorne, he is subject to the Blessing of the Blood God, and as a result he is immune to the effects of psychic powers. *''Gorechild'' - Massive and ancient; Gorechild is an artefact Chainaxe from the time of the Great Crusade. Gorechild's jagged whirling teeth were torn from the jaws of Mica Dragons on the world of Luther Mcintyre and its shaft is forged of adamantium. Even in the hands of an unskilled user (which Khârn is clearly not) the axe can split an armoured Space Marine from head to crotch. In the hands of the Betrayer, it can deliver devastating blows with deadly accuracy. *'Death-counter' - Khârn's helm incorporates an ancient archaic device known as a death-counter. The ancient gothic lettering of the digital death-counter is superimposed on Khârn's field of vision and increments quickly, tallying the offerings of the crazed berserker's kills as he makes them. Khârn was proud of this archaic device, presented by Warmaster Horus himself in ancient times. Its like could not be made in this current degenerate age. Sources *''White Dwarf'' 201 (US), "The Betrayer", pp. 87-90 *''White Dwarf'' 227 (US), "Chapter Approved: Chaos, Khârn the Betrayer", pp. 73-80 *''White Dwarf'' 230 (US), "WH40K 3rd: Bitter and Twisted - Khârn the Betrayer", p. 42 * Dark Imperium (Anthology), "The Wrath of Khârn" by William King *''Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Ed), p. 48'' *''Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Ed), p. 26'' *''False Gods'' (Novel) by Graham McNeill * Galaxy In Flames (Novel) by Ben Counter *''Battle for the Abyss'' (Novel) by Ben Counter * Age of Darkness (Anthology) edited by Christian Dunn, "Rebirth" by Chris Wraight *''Tales of Heresy'' (Anthology) edited by Nick Kyme and Lindsey Priestley, "After Desh'ea" by Matthew Farrer *''The Weakness of Others'' (Novella) by Laurie Goulding *''Chosen of Khorne'' (Audio Drama) by Anthony Reynolds Category:K Category:Chaos Characters Category:Chaos Space Marines Category:Chaos